Mary Edna Glendinning

Mary Edna Glendinning. Holding History (unpublished book manuscript), 1966.

Mary Edna Glendinning (1894–1988) grew up in rural Missouri and began to pursue both teaching and missionary work after high school. In 1923 she graduated from Scarritt Bible and Training School in Kansas City, Missouri. Glendinning also attended Central College (now Central Methodist University) in Fayette, Missouri, graduating in 1926 with a B.A. in History. Consecrated a Methodist Deaconess in 1926, she served as an educator and administrator at Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas (1926–1954, 1957–1962, 1964–1966) and at Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina (1954–1957). Deaconess Glendinning’s memoirs provide insights into her four decades of ministry.